Company
by dbc357
Summary: Sasuke is bored since he's being forced to attend a business party. But could that change when an old friend shows up? AU Romantic fluff


**Company**

"Come on, little brother. At least look like you're having fun."

Itachi tried to cheer up the younger Uchiha who just sat by the bar, looking bored and glaring at whoever dared to approach him. It wasn't entirely fair to blame him though. He had been forced to come here after all.

"No."

"Sasuke, it wouldn't kill you to smile, or at least stop glaring. Someone might actually dare to approach you and you just might end up having fun."

"I prefer to keep people away, thank you."

Itachi sighed. He had tried with encouragement, sarcasm and teasing, but his little brother remained ridiculously stubborn. Itachi walked away, thinking to come back later for another attempt when the atmosphere would be more relaxed.

Sasuke happily went back to sipping his beer in peace. He was at yet another of his father's business parties that he had no interest in whatsoever. It was always boring, strict and uneventful. He had no business at this particular event anyway. Instead of taking place in the family company, he had chosen to become a lawyer. His parents had approved since that too was a fitting career for an Uchiha, but they still required his presence at these stupid parties.

Suddenly, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. Upon turning his head, a brunette girl smiled at him and addressed him with a seductive voice. "Hey there, good-looking Where have you been all my life?"

A dark eyebrow rose at that. Seriously? Not only did she use bad pick-up lines, but she also looked way too young to be acting like that.

He sighed and some witty reply he had found on the Internet came to mind. "I have been hiding from you, obviously."

"Surely you don't mean that." The girl was practically purring now and flattering her eyelashes. It was stupid really. He had come out of the closet years ago and the females were still in denial?

Dark eyes didn't even dignify her with a look. "I like your approach, but I think I'll like your departure even more. So move along."

The girl was about to throw a witty retort back yet again when a set of arms enveloped him possessively from behind. The arms were strong and a firm chest was pressing against his back. Definitely a male, but it was certainly not a fat and stinky business man.

Sasuke was about to throw the guy off when the voice of the unidentified male spoke. "Sorry, miss, but he's with me."

Now this was an interesting turn of events. Wanting to get rid of the girl, Sasuke decided to stay silent and play along.

The female huffed in irritation and quickly stormed off. The arms around Sasuke let go of him and Mystery Boy stepped into view.

"Sorry, but watching that pathetic attempt at flirting was just painful. I hope you don't mind." A blonde, a very familiar blonde, grinned wickedly and his familiar blue eyes were lit up with childish excitement over his little stunt.

Sasuke smirked in return. "Always one to make a grand entrance, aren't you, Naruto?"

The grin widened. "It never gets old."

Naruto saluted him with his beer bottle before taking a sip, and the Uchiha returned the gesture, starting to feel more at ease in the presence of an old friend.

"What brings you here, Naruto? I didn't think that this was your type of party."

His question was rewarded with pained expression on the tanned face. "It's not. My dad is a business man, so he was invited, always is, but he travels a lot and can rarely attend. Now he's home for a longer period of time for a change and he decided to accept the invitation. However, he came up with the idea that it would be fun if the whole family went together."

Sasuke studied Naruto's displeased frown. "I take you it don't agree," he commented.

The blonde smirked. "I'm not the only one. You look more apathetic and bored than Shikamaru, and he's the expert in that area."

Sasuke just let out his customary "hn" and drained the last remnants of his beer, watching the blue eyes of his companion scan the party.

There was some lame music playing in the background, people were standing in small groups where they chatted quietly, the dance floor was empty and the teenagers looked ready to slit their wrists.

The blonde groaned and slumped forward against the bar. "Seriously . . . on a scale of 1 to 10, how boring is this party?

Sasuke chuckled at the antics of his friend. "Try 100."

The blonde finished his beer while making a sound of agreement. He smiled playfully when he'd drained his bottle. "It's been a while. Want to get out here, to catch up?" He inclined his head towards the garden entrance as he spoke.

Sasuke nodded, thinking this could be interesting. Their friendship had come to an end when they attended different high schools. They had simply drifted apart and not seen each other since.

He followed the blonde head through the crowd and out the door, discreetly observing him. The goofy boy from before had become a man. His mischievousness was obviously still there, but he appeared to be more mature, and he'd definitely grown up. Naruto had been shorter than the other boys in their age group and the class clown, constantly getting himself into trouble. Now he was as tall as Sasuke and he had gained muscles, which where discreetly defined. Add on his easy-going personality and brilliant smile, and he could surely charm anyone.

The garden of the Uchiha mansion was enormous, with paths made for walking, fountains, tress, bushes and flowers. He fell into step with Naruto and they casually strolled around in the little landscape. Birds were chirping, water rushed in the fountains and the winds rustled the leaves in the trees. It was a nice and peaceful, a great contrast to the choking atmosphere inside.

"So how's life?" Naruto's voice was still cheerful, just slightly deeper than the Uchiha remembered it to be.

The dark-haired boy shrugged. "Same old, same old. Working at a law firm, trying to live up to the Uchiha name, stupid business parties," he said slowly. He couldn't quite keep the bitterness and sarcasm away from his tone.

The blonde's face went soft, knowing life for the Uchiha wasn't always easy. "I'm sure you're doing well at that. You can do anything. You always could." His voice was gentle and encouraging.

Naruto's gentle expression was contagious as always. Sasuke's face lost its scowl and his shoulders lost their tense posture. Since he wasn't much of a talker, he replied with only a "hn".

Being uncomfortable with the subject, the Uchiha changed it. "And you? I heard you went to college. Did you have to bribe them into accepting you?"

He immensely enjoyed himself when scarred checks puffed out in anger and a cry of indignation was heard.

"Hey, I wasn't that bad! I could get good grades if I put my mind to it."

A dark eyebrow was lifted in doubt.

Naruto huffed in defeat. "Okay, I didn't get into one of those fancy schools for stuck-up geniuses that you and Neji most likely went to, but at least I got in."

Sasuke let himself smile a little, secretly enjoying the company of the tanned boy. "I knew you would." He let his voice go soft at those words and Naruto smiled back at him.

"Tell me, Uzumaki, what did you study?"

"Psychology. I work at a youth center that helps drug addicted teens now." A bit of pride could definitely be heard in the statement.

Sasuke thought about that for a moment. "It fits you." The comment was just a silent murmur as he mused to himself, thinking back on how social his companion was and how good he was with people. He was friendly, kind, open-minded and easy-going.

"You talk more than you used too, Sasuke. You're more open. Now you actually answer with sentences instead of a 'hn'. It's nice."

The pale boy suppressed a blush and smirked. "Consider yourself honored. I consider you worthy of engaging in a conversation with."

A rumbling laughter rose from Naruto's throat. "You're still a bastard though."

"Yes, and you're still an idiot."

Said idiot grinned cockily. "Yeah, but that's just a part of my charm."

It was so easy falling back in the old pattern of bickering, bringing back memories of rivalry as well as friendship. The feelings made both of them swim in nostalgia.

They reached a secluded area of the garden, shielded from the light of the house. They sat down on the grass, watching the stars and losing track of time.

As they sat there, chatting quietly and catching up, Sasuke came to a conclusion. He didn't really mind being at the party anymore, not as long as Naruto was there with him. It was so easy to forget all your troubles and just relax in his presence.

"So what about love-life? Are you seeing anyone?"

"Nope, there's nothing to tell."

"You know, Uchiha, being a little more social wouldn't kill you. It's nice having someone to love."

Sasuke actually groaned. There was that gentle voice again. "Whatever," he grumbled. "You're seeing anyone?" He kept his voice casual like always, wanting to mask his disappointment that Naruto might be taken.

His question was answered with a shrug. "No, I broke up with my boyfriend a few months ago. Turned out the bastard was cheating on me."

Dark yes blinked slightly in surprise. "Wait a minute . . . boyfriend?"

Naruto chuckled. "You never knew I was bisexual?"

"No." Sasuke shook his head. He had been to busy fighting with Naruto to notice such things, not to mention that the blonde had been crushing on Sakura back in the day. "Sorry to hear he cheated on you though. That sucks."

Naruto, not one to let things bring him down, smiled. "It's okay. It's his loss."

Sasuke locked his dark eyes onto blue ones meaningfully. "Indeed, it is."

Naruto blinked and swallowed nervously, taking in the hidden meaning in the statement. He cleared his throat awkwardly and blushed. "Thanks."

Sasuke sighed when Naruto shyly addressed his feet instead of Sasuke. Quickly, a pale hand caught a firm hold of a tanned chin.

It was a soft and short meeting of lips. He softly moved his lips against Naruto's for a few glorious seconds, relishing in the softness and warmth. When he pulled back to study the other's reaction, the blonde was smiling at him. The he was suddenly pushed onto his back and the boys continued to kiss while rolling around in the grass like a pair of drunken teenagers, laughing, wrestling and kissing.

Pausing their activities to breath, Naruto looked up at the Uchiha who had ended up on top of him. "So . . . we're kissing. Not that I mind, it just sort of came out of nowhere, so what does this mean?" he asked a little hesitantly.

"I'm free tomorrow evening. What don't we meet up and find out?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"Best suggestion I heard all day," the blonde answered with a grin before pulling down the dark-haired boy for another kiss.

Sasuke concluded that Itachi was right. Maybe being a bit more open and social wasn't entirely a bad thing. It just had to be with the right person.


End file.
